A curse to Love
by Sorceress Usagi
Summary: After being hit by a curse as Tuxedo Mask, Darien finds himself VERY changed. He's a CAT! And he's ended up in the care of his archnemises the Meatball head, who thinks he's a regular kitty. Boy is she in for a big suprise!
1. The Prologue

Hey all! Jus me here bringin ya my new fanficiton! I like it so far. Anyway I'm very ticked off right now. Fanfiction totally erased all my previous fanfictions including this one and I don't have all of the chapters saved!! So now I have to write them all over! EGADS!!!!  
Ah well...life can really suck....  
  
  
Disclaimer- Sailor Moon does not belong to me it belongs to Naoko Takeuchi.  
  
NoTE!** This story is written kinda funny but you'll get use to it...romance shows up in part three. Venus is already here and serena knows about Darien's family thanks to andrew. Other than that this story is pretty close to the original timeline...  
  
Chapter 1 -  
  
  
  
"Jerk!"  
"Meatball head!"  
"Egotistical pompous prick!"  
"child!"  
"Moron!"  
"Underachiever"  
"self absorbed PIG!"  
"Yeah right, Look who's talking about Pigs Miss I-could-eat-the-empire-state-building-and-still-have-room-for-more!"  
"I would not!"  
"Eat the empire state building? Yeah you would!"  
"No I wouldn't!"  
"Would!"  
"Wouldn't!  
"Would!"  
"WOULDN'T!"  
"Would, would would, would, would, would would, would, would!"  
"Wouldn't! Wouldn't! Wouldn't! Wouldn't! Wouldn't! Wouldn't! WOULD NO..."  
  
"OH FOR HEAVENS SAKE SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUP!!!!" yelled Andrew at his two closest friends. Now Andrew was usually an easy going kind of guy but I mean he IS human, and humans get mad sometimes no matter HOW patient they are. Andrew...he just happens to be a person that...when he gets angry...you'd better run for cover.... He threw his hands onto the table in front of a 14 year old school girl and a 19 year old college Freshman; He swiveled his head to Darien. "You!" he began, "SHUT UP! And YOU!" he turned his head to an odangoed blonde named Serena "BE QUIET! I'm SICK of your fighting and acting like you were both HALF serena's age!"  
"HEY!" protested both Serena and her foe indignantly for different reasons.  
"No offense Sere. But it's true. And you may be even acting the age HALF of that!" Andrew threw his college class mate an evil glare. "WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT ARGUING WITH THIS GIRL!" he demanded hotly. Darien ignored him and shifted his gaze to look out through the window beside the booth they were in.   
"DON'T YOU ***EVEN*** -TRY- TO IGNORE ME YOU ARROGANT PISS-ANT!" Andrew screamed in a rage. Darien immediately turned his whole body to the sandy blonde man towering over him and gave him an enraged look. He was about to yell right back at him before a certain blonde's voice cut in.   
"Finally!" Serena spat. "I'm not the only one who see's this creep for what he IS!"  
"Why you little...!" "Didn't I tell you to be -QUIET-!?" Said Darien and Andrew at the same time.  
Serena shrank back at the double attack before launching herself past Andrew to stand up. "That's IT!" She screamed. "I'm LEAVING!"  
"Don't get our hopes up..." muttered Darien. Andrew punched him In the arm, just enough to hurt. "DARIEN!" he seethed "I am warning you!"  
They bickered back and forth until they realized Serena was still there. They looked at her and were surprised to see the extra dampness in her eyes. When Andrew saw this, he immediately forgot his anger.  
"Oh Serena I'm sorry! I didn't mean to yell at you really! I was just....I was just tired of you guys treating each other like trash! I'm sorry really don't cry! I'd never forgive myself If I made you cry!"  
"Yeah well I don't care if she cries so long as the ears she bursts while she does it aren't mine..." muttered Darien  
Serena was quiet for a minute as she fought to hold back her tears.  
"You're a cold hearted man Darien Chiba. How you could..." (a tear went down her cheek right then and she drew a ragged breath) she shook her head at what she was about to say and started over.  
"You know what Darien? All those things I said? You can forget I ever said those things to you...they don't begin to describe the enmity I feel towards you. You know what I really see when I look at you? Do you know? All in a nutshell Darien, I see a lost, lonely, little boy who's afraid to believe that anyone in this wide world could ever care for him. (she sobbed some more) And I feel sorry for you because I know that with the way you treat others, it's true. It's so true. You'll always be alone Darien and you know it..."  
"Shut up meatball head...I'm warning you..." Serena smiled inwardly. 'So I finally struck a nerve did I? Well lets see how far this'll go.'   
"Serena lay off girl...you don't know what your saying..."eased Andrew with a scared glance at Darien.  
"Lay off!?" Serena exploded. "I'm only telling the truth Andrew! He's alone and always will be because -no one- on this planet will ever care for a cold hearted, loveless creature like this. If in the event he ever does find a girl that will say she loves him it will only be because of his looks! No one will ever love the person that he is inside! That cruel harsh evil being he call his 'self'. Look at him Andrew and tell me that you can ever see him with another soul! Ever loving Anybody or anyone ever loving HIM! I'll bet he doesn't even know what love is! He's going to be like that forever Andrew! Until the day he dies I swear it! The only woman that would ever feel any relationship at all to him is his Mother and she's DEAD! Dead and GONE!"  
  
Silence filled the crown game arcade center as the small crowd watched on in mixed emotion. Startled by the feeling of eyes on her back, Serena looked behind her and saw her close friends Mina. Ami, Rei, and Lita watching with tears in their eye's as the harsh words and warm tears flowed so freely out of Serena. Then she returned a horrified gaze to Andrew and Darien. "Oh my god" she whispered. 'What have I done?' she said inside herself.  
Darien raised himself above the table and began to slide out while picking up his jacket, the calm and cool demeaner he'd had only minutes before were totally gone....the walls he'd put up so that no one could ever see what he was feeling had crumbled to the ground. The defenses of a man, whom many ladies had deemed god-like, lay in ruins and only the man stood before Serena. He was hurt, very hurt, and Serena thought she saw moisture spring to his eyes. He wanted to fight her, he had so many things he wanted to say to say to her. Yell at her, scream at her. But none of them found their way to his mouth. Instead, he uttered one word and with a solitary tear treading a path down his smooth cheek he grabbed his stuff and fled the arcade towards his apartment.  
  
"No." serena whispered as he ran out. What was he doing? Where was he going? 'Oh Darien' her mind whimpered 'Don't run away!' she fell to the floor and sobbed while she felt multiple arms of warmth surround her. She could hear her friends soothing and confused voices. 'Oh Darien don't go! Fight me! Please fight me! Let me know I haven't hurt you! Please!" She whimpered and cried while all the while repeating over and over for her friends and audience to hear...  
  
"What have I done? What have I done? What have I done...."  
  
Darien ran blindly through the streets. 'What am I doing!?' Darien screamed at himself and his tears. 'Why? ---How can I be crying!? I don't care what that meatball-head thinks! It's not true! I know it's not!' Darien ran through the door of his apartment and threw himself onto the couch and proceeded to hit things around him wildly as if his body had been possessed. His insides were twisted, and his heart felt like a lead weight...everything about him was dying and he didn't know why. Hot tears found the way down his face for the first time since he was six years old. That was the year he'd lost them, both of them...the people that loved him unconditionally....his mother and father. The years that followed had been tough and unforgiving. He'd never been adopted and went through life fighting for himself.   
"Why do I care!?" Darien moaned through his tears. "Why am I crying over what she said!? I don't miss my parents any more! They left me behind!" At this he burst out a fresh round of tears and fell loosely on the couch. "I'm not alone...I'm not alone...I have a friend, I have Andrew...wait...Andrew? Hey!How did she know?" Darien asked. "How did Serena know about them?" The answer hit Darien like a ton of bricks. "Andrew..." Darien muttered. It had to be him, he was the only one who knew. For some reason Darien just laughed. "Son of a bitch" he smiled as his eyes dried. "He told her...my most trusted friend betrayed me...." An hour later he was asleep. Four more hours after that, just after sunset and one of his nightmares he woke up to find himself in a tuxedo. Knowing what he had to do on instinct, he leapt from his balcony to the next building, and continued on jumping rooftops to where he could feel Sailor Moon's spirit coming from. While jumping he made up his mind...tommarrow would be no different than today was before that awful fight. He'd act like nothing at all had happened and after Serena apologized (he knew that she would) he would go on as if Andrew had told her nothing. "Andrew." He spat the word in an anger only half as strong as it was before. "You'd better be ready to feel my wrath." Finally he could hear the sounds of battle and he relaxed into the shadows to watch with his cape around him to wait until he was needed. He could tell that the scouts weren't doing so well. He watched as both Mercury and Jupiter took their final fall in the battle and it didn't haze him, he waited on, watching in interest. The monster seemed to be dishing out the same elemental attack on each individual scout. Finally Venus got hit trying to cover for Mars and her body was flung against the wall of a building nearby. Mars and Moon cried out for her and Tuxedo Mask watched as the two began yelling at each other.  
  
Tuxedo Masks POV__  
  
  
It ended when Mars slapped her and the two began trying to attack the creature from the nega-verse. I fought the urge to jump right down there and slap Mars' face off. I don't know why but I am -very- protective of Sailor Moon. Not that I feel anything more than just protective over her though.  
(A.N. yea right. ;p ) Anyway, I began to crawl closer to the battle and I could see that Sailor Moon had been talking to Sailor Mars as they fought. However I only saw her mouth move, I could not hear her words. I also saw her face, it was red and slightly puffy...as though she had been crying. Something inside me stirred and I felt compelled to go to her and...do something. I don't know what...but something.   
Instead of acting on my feelings I hunched down and bided my time. It wasn't to long until my help was needed. Soon enough Sailor Mars got blasted by a fire ball and she was sent careening into the pavement in a burning heap...  
  
End Prolouge part 1******  
  
Okay so he's not a cat yet. Deal wit it!!! So good? Bad? Stupid? I know this has absolutely no humor or romance yet, but that comes in the third part. The second part will be out as soon as I get a few reviews saying that anyone wants one. Anyways that's all for now! Gotta go!  



	2. The Transformation Begins

  
  
Love and Fur-balls  
  
*Is grinning like an idiot* I thought that this might be a very interesting topic to write about, so I hope I don't screw it up by writing it badly. This is my third fic that I actually began writing, but it's only my second to be released. Enjoy!!   
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or anything else mentioned here exept for Sailor Moon's attack (Moon tiara torture)  
  
**note** This will *probably* be the only fight scene that takes up most of the chapter...to tell the truth I don't know how it got this long...I wanted to get right to the point but this is what I got...oh well....  
  
  
"MARS!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Sailor Moon wept in sorrow. All of them, every last one of the scouts but the soldier of the moon had fallen to the beatings of "Superstition" the negaverse's latest monster. . Sailor Moon looked to the witch droid in front of her and burst into tears. "My friends! NOOOOOOOO!!!!" For once the moon soldier was to angry to be scared, the charred body of mars, the electrified body of Jupiter, the frozen body of Mercury, and the battered body of venus had driven her insane. She threw herself to her feet and ran straight at the monster. "You won't get away with this! I won't forgive you!" Fire flew from the youma's hair, making her usually ice (blue) skin a repulsive bruise-ish purple. The electrical current that was her outfit hissed and cackled around the length of her body. White light glowed from her eyes and to complete the out fit she had on a pointed black hat in her hand and a wand in the other. She smiled as the puny girl ran blindly to her outstretched wand...both ready to destroy the other.  
  
*****Tuxedo mask POV****  
  
I watched as Sailor Mars took her fall and cringed inwardly at the sight of it. I wanted to help, I really did, but I couldn't. My job was to save Sailor Moon when she needed help, not her friends. I could have helped I'm sure but, I choose not to. You see it's about this princess. Every night I get this same dream over and over about this beautiful princess that needs some sort of help and, somehow I think these scouts are connected with it, so I prefer to observe them than actually get invovled. Yea I know it sounds nuts, about the princess I mean, but I mean come on, if you used a rose to turn into a TUXEDOED super hero to save sailor suited teenagers from monsters from outer space...you really wouldn't think to many things sounded strange anymore.... Anyway, Here I am crouched up in a dark corner waiting for my time to jump out as the mysterious hero to save Sailor Moon's cute butt from the space trash.   
'Cute!? How'd that get in there?' I admonish myself and shake my head as an angered scream cuts through my thoughts. I turn my attention to the fight and realize it's Sailor Moon. I bend my knees in full anticipation of leaping out any time now. I watch as she hurls herself blindly at the monster, she really has no clue what she's doing, --------- and I cursed her for it. I jump out of my hiding place as the monster's attack flies behind us and freezes the wall behind where Sailor Moon once stood. Huddled against a new wall, I put her between it and myself while fanning out my cape in order to protect her, just as the frozen wall exploded. After the initial shock of the blast I look from my hands on the wall in front of me, down to the shocked, crying form beneath the shadow of my cape and myself.  
I see nothing in her eyes but emptiness and disbelief and I feel my whole being beginning to twist in sympathy for her...however...I am not one to give sympathy....  
"What the hell are you doing!? Get a grip Sailor Moon! Being dead will not help your friends at a time like this! Fight your feelings and your pain! Your friends will be fine!" Sailor Moon looks up at me and I see the look of hurt in her eyes from my harshness. I try to make her have faith in me. Reaching down my hand from the wall, I stroked my fingertips down the side of her cheek for comfort.   
"Don't worry." I whisper "I'll fight with you. Things will be O.K.------I promise." I give her a reassuring smile until she blinks away her tears and nods her head. Soon afterwards I feel myself jerked backwards as she launches herself into my still open arms. "Th-thank y-you." I hear her stammer.   
I calmly hug her back (for friendly support) and inhale her scent as my body tingles from sadness...sadness just from knowing that -she- was sad. I, being who I am, usually don't let myself get so connected with people. I mean ANY people...In -any- way, shape, or form for reasons I will describe later. Anyway, point is that I wasn't about to let this pretty Suited soildier make me face the emotions for others that I had been outrunning throughout my entire life. So being I ended our little pity party a little quicker than I think she was ready for. I slowly pulled her back right after muttering "You're welcome...Now dust that witch." I watched as her surprised frown turned into a smile brighter than day. (I always found it amazing how nothing ever kept her down for long.)  
We both stood up and faced the youma behind us, patiently waiting for us to finish. I blush a little beneath my mask at what Sailor Moon and I had done. We had totally left our guard down with one of the most powerful youma yet right behind us. I mentally kick myself for being so dumb, emotions are always so troublesome; I wish they didn't exist.   
  
  
"Are you ready to die yet?" the witch purred in a voice very uncharacteristic to a witch.  
"If anyone dies today it's gonna be you Nega-trash!" cried Sailor Moon in a determined voice, filled with a strength I never thought possible of her.   
"If you hurt my friends, then you hurt ME! And when someone hurts me..."" sailor moon pulled off her tiara and glared at the witch with death and anger in her eyes. "Then somebody dies!" she screamed. "MOON TIARA TORTURE!!!" The golden disc flew from her hand and flew past the youma, which stood facing the scout as though nothing had happened.  
  
*************Author POV************  
  
"Ha ha." The youma cackled transforming into a hideous wrinkled woman. (A.N.-Imagine the witch off the wizard of oz.) "You missed...my turn..." She smiled an almost toothless smile at a smug Moon scout and a shocked Tuxedo mask.   
"Nope...I don't think sooooo." Sailor Moon sang in a sickeningly sweet voice. Following the "duo of good's" gaze, Superstition turned around and screamed out. The no longer frizbee size disc was heading straight for her at alarming speed. Before she could run, before she could do anything...six, not one, spiked, razor sharp discs began running up and around her flesh, shredding her body.  
The youma screamed in agony, and fell to her knees while bringing her glare up to the gaping justice pair before her.  
"I-will---not---fAIL!!!" Superstition cried in pain as the discs continued their travels. "  
" Oh no!" sailor moon began to whimper to herself and her audience. "I didn't know it would do that! I didn't -know- it would do *that*!" she repeated and looked away.  
Superstition struggled to bring her hands together agaisnt the restraints of the Moon's attack. She concentrated her last bit of energy into a black glowing ball before crying out.   
"This isn't the end! Take this as my gift for the one who caused my destruction! Take it! My beautiful curse!" with that she hurled the ball of energy straight towards the unsuspecting scout of the Moon and exploded into moondust.  
  
*******Sailor Moon's point of view********  
  
I watched as the youma known as Superstition was ripped to shreds before my eyes and I felt my eyes become filled with tears at the thought that I had caused so much pain....even to a youma...a creature not even of this world or of -any- world of good. I whimpered at the pitiful and revolting sight she made before turning away. It was only after then that I finally sensed danger and heard the youma creature cry out her last words before I felt something tackle me to the ground.  
  
*************Tuxedo Mask**************  
  
I watched in horror as the black ball headed straight for the odango-ed soldier...I tried to cry out but my voice didn't heed my urgent message to do so. Instead I found myself tackling her to the ground and being hit in the back by what I would have thought was a pro-football player. I don't remember much after that until about five minutes later when I woke up again with Sailor Moon above me for a change.   
"Areyouallright!?" I heard her garble.  
"Huh? wut?" I asked a little dizzily.  
I could tell she was calming down after she didn't answer for a while. I heard a deep breath and then..."I -said-, are you alright?" I looked at her through my mask and wondered what she was talking about....and, why was I wearing a mask?  
"What do you mean." I asked. She looked at me like I was nuts.  
"You----You just took a hit for me remember? Youma? Fight? Scouts? You know?" She raised an eyebrow at me (Which made her look -really- cute.) and I looked down at what I was wearing. 'A tuxedo?' I asked myself furrowing my brow. Then it all fell into place.  
"Oh yeah." I said simply before sitting up. I felt a wet cloth fall into my lap before I picked it up. I looked from it to Sailor Moon curiously and raised my own eyebrow in question.   
"You were sweating pretty bad." She stammered. "I was trying to cool you down." I nodded my head in reply before standing up.   
"The scouts?" I asked with my back to her.   
"They got their energy back as soon as the monster was defeated. It took some time but I finally convinced them not to finish you off for not helping them when they needed it, and I also convinced Luna to let us leave your identity a secret for now, they left because they were anngry that I defended you.  
I looked back in surprise. "You did that for me?"   
"Yes." She answered. "But you didn't answer my question, are you O.K?" I looked at her uncomprehending. She had the chance to find out my identity but didn't? WHY? I know she's always wondered by the way she asks me at every battle so why? Heck if I had the chance I'd unmask her with the drop of a hat. Well maybe not, I do have some honor.   
"I'm O.k. don't worry." I said before grabbing her gloved hand and bringing it to my lips for a quick kiss. "Arigatou." I murmured. "Some day however, you will explain why you didn't unmask me."  
"I could now if you wante..." that was all I heard as I flew through the air back the way I had come before calling back. "Some other time!" and dissappearing into the night.   
It was the truth to, I felt better than I had in ages, my strength, my agility, and all my senses seemed astoundingly much more acute than they were prior to the fight. I thought back to what the witch had said. 'Curse? How could this be a curse? I feel better than I've felt in ages!' I jumped up a building 16 flights to my apartment's balcony, a leap that usually took me two or three good bounds to do. I went inside detransformed and prepared myself for sleep, or the lack of it anyways, I knew I wouldn't be asleep very long before the princess would come to wake me up. With this thought in my head I lie down and wait for the inevitable dream/nightmare to come torment me, Darien Shields.   
  
  
******Dariens Nightmare*****  
I don't know how long I had been asleep when I found myself standing in a mist. I looked around and could see nothing on any side of me...nothing but the endless mists. ' strange, usually there's the sounds of a party going on...and when was it ever this -cold-!?' I shiver as I look around "Princess?" I call out, receiving no answer. "PRINCESS!!!" I scream out again, a little fearful this time. 'What's going -on- here?' I begin to walk forward cautiously until I hear a voice in the distance. "Hey! Who's There!" I call out, sprinting toward the voice. I call out again and again but the person behind the voice seems not to hear me. Finally I can make out a figure and just as I begin to make out what the person is saying, I hear it come from everywhere around me. A mantra: an evil mantra...over and over hissing and whispering..."My curse...My curse...My curse..." The shilhouette of a woman becomes distinct in front of me and before I can move I feel my shoulders clutched into her claw like hands. She pushes her face into mine and I recognise her as the youma from the latest fight, in the form she had when she had attacked Mars. After she looks into my eye's I see her scowl with fury. "YOU!?" she screeched. (her breath really stinks) I try to fight my way out of her inhuman grip. "Let me go!" I choke out as she grabs my throat.   
"NO!" she screams, "how could YOU have gotten my curse! This was meant for HER! AGHHH!" I feel her grip on my throat tighten then loosen seconds later.   
"Oh well," she mumures. "I'm sure I can have fun with you and this curse anyway." The next thing I know she and I are eye level and I have this sneaky feeling she wasn't looking into my eyes alone. More like my very soal, I shiver at the thought and wonder at what it was she could see. Worse yet what she was smiling at.  
"Good soal -Darien-." She laughed while I winced. 'yep, knew it.' I thought.  
"Such a soal filled with so much pain, so many untold secrets, and so little love will make my job all the easier." She laughed before stepping away and being enveloped by the fog. It was then that everything else started moving in on me as though I were the eye of a hurricane. The mist went stormy blue's and grey's while lightning flashed against the evil youma/woman's shilhouette. I put up my arm against the horrid winds and fell to my knees while over the wind a high voice screamed...  
  
(AN- *Warning! * this is way corny___ ^-^)  
  
  
Ancient spirits hear my cry!  
One final spell   
before I die...   
  
Upon this man   
please lay my curse  
And let it in no way reverse...  
(pause)  
doom him to a caring touch  
That shall never know his truth!  
For eternity may he feel regret  
At being his own noose...  
  
Until he learns how others feel  
May he always have the outline,  
Of what a witch does most desire!  
A midnight colored feline!  
  
  
The clouds moved in on Darien and he screamed in pain as they were absorbed into his body. Something inside him was...-changing-! He screamed again as his veins felt as though they were on fire. And that's when he woke up...---------thank god for alarm clocks....  
  
*******End dream*****  
  
Darien woke up in a frenzy and looked at his alarm clock that happened to be blaring away. Happy that it actually got to serve it's purpose for once.  
  
Darien looked at the time quickly before runnnig to the mirror. 'what a weird dream.' He thought, looking at his ashen face. ' I hope that one doesn't start recurring too.' With that he got dressed and prepared to leave for school. On the way out the door he looked once more in the mirror and observed himself before saying outload. "jeez darien, what did you expect? Pointed ears and whiskers?" he shook his head at his reflection and turned away. As he walked through the door, he grabbed the knob with one hand and wiped his bangs back with his newly licked back-of-the-hand. (He didn't even realize what he'd done...) He was halfway down the hall before his clothes began to bag...  
  
  
******End prolougue part 2 or chpt.1*****  
  
O.K. O.K. I know this turned out a little weird but I can work with this. After this things get more humorous and romantic...things might get serious once more but who knows!? I seriously doubt they will though. Stay tuned for chapter 2-Darien the furball gets adopted.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. The transformation's complete but....who...

  
  
  
Darien opened his door and stepped out of his building and into the sun. Shielding his eyes from the sun he moaned out loud. "God I feel sick." He groaned as he kept walking towards the Crown Game Center. "Maybe I just need some coffee." He muttered as his head throbbed. He was just about to the Arcade when a wave of nausea swept over him. "Oh god." He cried out as he dropped his books and hugged himself. His body felt like it was pulling itself apart and his insides felt like they were mush. "Oh my god! I've got to get help!" he cried as he ran blindly into an ally. It was there that he blacked out.  
  
********  
"Oi mate! Getta load o' this will ya! Some body dumped a pile o' bloody fine clothes in o'r alley!"  
'whot uh stroke a luck ay?"   
"Ye'! Let's take 'em! Ain' nob'dy heeya ta claim 'em 'nyways!"  
The beggars quickly picked up the clothes and carried them out of the alley, heedless of the little black creature inside....  
  
  
I know..it's been forever and this is what you get? The next chapter will be longer, it tells how serena finds him. So of course that means it will be good. Keep readin' and reviewin' I love to read reviews!   



	4. Lost and Found

Hey all, I know it's been a long time… I started this fic when I was in the middle of high school and now I'm in college. Who'd 'a thunk it? Anyways, sorry for the wait and thanks for your patience. I just read the last 3 chapters, and I realize I have some editing to do. I'll get on that ASAP. (Which may end up being not very soon, but eventually). Anyways, on with the show. I know it seems pointless to update this, but I really want to finish my stories...even if nobody reads them I want to be able to say that I did.

The morning sun shown down on the district of Azabu Juuban, a small location in Tokyo, Japan, as Serena walked down the sidewalk on her way to school. She sighed a deep sigh as she drooped her head and trudged onward muttering "I don't wanna go to school. Haruna-sensei is just going to make me stand in the hall or give me detention again. I don't even see the point of going anymore." She paused for a moment and looked at the sky defiantly, "Who's to say I couldn't just play hooky for one day!" she cried out with determination. She stood still, seriously contemplating the thought for a few moments before she remembered the school's automated calling system that called home whenever a student didn't show up for class. Sighing once again, she shuffled her feet onward.

Lost in whatever thoughts someone as blonde as Serena might have in the early morning, she almost didn't notice the faint shriek being carried on the wind, but after the third or fourth one that interrupted said thoughts, the pitiful sounds cut through to her conscious. Immediately concerned for the source of the sounds, she ran in the direction that she felt they had come from. Turning a street corner into a park she found two men dressed half in dirty rags and half nicely as though each had split one good suit and one bad one. One of them had an animal pinned to the ground and was about to strike it while the other man was grabbing his bleeding arm and watching. "Why do I have this insane feeling of Déjà vu?" Serena asked herself. "Hey!" Serena yelled at the men. "Leave that poor animal alone you punks!" The two homeless men looked up at her and then at each other. The bleeding man sighed.

"Jus le' it go. 's only a scratch." His friend nodded and gave the cat a good shake before he tossed it away and stood up to join his buddy. Serena walked up to the disoriented cat as she watched cautiously as the two men walked away.

The black cat looked up at her and its eyes went wide. "Easy kitty." She said softly as she knelt down in front of it. "I won't hurt you. I just want to be sure that you're ok." It just shook its head vigorously and started mewing hysterically as it looked at itself and then to her as though it were confused out of its little kitty mind. Serena just observed this with a blank stare.

"Okay…I think I just rescued a cat with holes in its brain or something." She mumbled as she watched it twitch around. At that comment, the cat stopped and stared at her. Surprised at the turn of events Serena just stared back.

"YOOOWWW!!" She screamed as she fell back on her behind and grabbed her arm where the cat had scratched her. "What the crap was that for?!" She yelled at it. DING DING DING rang the school bells in the distance.

"OH NOOOO!" The blonde yelled, "I'm late again! Stupid CAT!" With that she was off like a blurry yellow shot.

Dazed and confused, the cat formerly known as Darien sat his new haunches on the cement. "Oh my God," He mewed bitterly to himself. "What the hell is happening to me now? First I wake up in the arms of a man, which was disturbing enough, and then I find out I've been turned into a cat and get saved by the odango-atama. I don't know which of the three is worse!" He sat in his misery as he thought about the morning's events, and quickly his misery turned to panic. "What am I going to do? How the hell am I going to get to work or school? And what about Sailor Moon!? Crap! I'm in some deep, deep shit now!" The cat lied down and put his paws over his head. "Calm down Darien," He told himself, "Just calm down. There's got to be a way to fix this. First of all, start with the problem. I'm a cat. That's a big problem. Now how'd I become a cat?" Darien thought back to the nightmare he had had after the battle the day before. "A curse. Now who do I know that fixes curses?" Darien racked his brain for any memory of a person who could break spells and curses. "Well let's see, nobody at work dabbles with magick or other religious powers, I don't really know anyone well enough at school, Andrew doesn't as far as I know, I can't really find the Sailor Scouts until a youma attack and I don't know if I can still sense those, then there's that ditz Serena who couldn't think her way out of a wet paper bag let alone figure out my identity or a curse, her friend Ami is smart she might be of some help, Mina's about as good as Serena, Lita is no help either, and what could Rei do? Hey wait a minute! Rei is a priestess! She does charms, fire readings and exorcisms, I'll bet she'll know something about curses, and she actually seemed smart enough to have a chance at figuring out who I am. She's my best bet so far, and if I remember correctly she lives at the Shinto Temple. I can just wait there until she gets home from school." Darien Stood on his four paws and after looking like a drunken fuzzball, finally figured out how to walk on four legs and made his way to the temple.

Not 20 minutes into his wait at the Shinto temple did Darien quickly learn he had made a bad decision; Rei's temple was a sanctuary for birds and Rei's grandpa liked to keep it that way. No unsupervised cats were allowed on temple grounds, especially ones that had tried to steal his favorite lunch, tuna salad on wheat crackers. Thanks to this, a very hungry Darien unfortunately, also quickly learned what it felt like to have a broom whacked against his tail repeatedly while having someone much larger chasing him around. Luckily, he escaped without serious damage, and was soon sitting dejectedly on the corner of the street leading away from the temple. Still hungry. Still confused. Still alone.

More importantly, however, was that his plan was ruined, and he was no longer welcome in the one place that held the most hope for him. All that remained was finding Rei before she got home or finding Amy. Darien knew where to find Amy's school, because she wore the same uniform as Serena, but Rei was in a private school he wasn't familiar with. There was no way he would find her before she got home. Knowing this, Darien set off for Juuban Middle School in search of the second most likely girl who could help him. By the time he arrived, lunch period had already begun and most students were on campus grounds playing games, talking, or eating bento (Japanese lunchbox). The blue haired genius he was searching for was somewhere among this lively bunch of adolescents. He immediately broke into a hurried run and weaved himself through the students, his sea blue eyes darting from face to face, wanting hers to appear as soon as possible. Not watching where you are going is, of course, never a good choice for anyone or anything, which was proven when he ran head long into a tree. Since he was already somewhat light headed from lack of food, the hit to his head was just enough to knock him silly, causing him to stumble and fall onto his side in a daze. When his vision cleared, 2 sets of curious eyes were staring at him from either side of the tree. To his joy, one of them was Amy's and the other one was Lita's. Setting aside his confusion at the differences in their uniforms, he unsteadily clambered to his feet and stumbled towards Amy.

"Oh, thank goodness I finally found you! Amy, you've got to help me find Rei! It's me, Darien! I've been cursed!"

Amy's eyes widened with recognition as she turned to face Lita. Darien felt a spark of hope.

"Do you have any more shrimp left Lita? He must be pretty hungry to be meowing so much."

Darien felt his stomach, and hopes, drop.

"Well, I have some, but they were the ones I saved for Serena."

"I'm sure she won't mind if you share just a few."

Lita looked dubious. "Well, if you say so…" She picked up a few sautéed shrimp from her bento and held it toward the cute black cat whose head was drooping low. It shot up the moment the scent of the delicacy hit his nose. Forgetting his current communication problem he pounced on the offered morsel with a vengeance. He would eat now, worry later. One by one Lita dropped the shrimp in front of him until there were no more left.

"Well, she certainly was hungry." Commented Amy. "Very pretty too. I wish my apartment let me have pets." Lita looked thoughtful.

"Actually, I think it's a boy cat. You can tell by their rear ends. I noticed when it knocked himself out on the tree." Darien's haunches immediately hit the ground out of embarrassment. He hadn't thought about what everyone could now see, and beneath his fur his face flushed miserably. Amy and Lita amicably chatted about the topic without realizing who snuck up behind them.

"WHERE ARE MY SHRIMP!" came a heartbroken wail. Lita and Amy turned to face their friend.

Lita jokingly threw her hands up in front of her face defensively and cried, "It wasn't my idea! Spare me!" Amy, naturally, was calm about it.

"Oh, sorry Serena. A hungry kitty came by and we shared them with him." Explained Amy.

A small, disbelieving squeek emerged from the sobbing blonde, "Their gone? My little, yummy shrimpies are all…gone? No more? WHY? How could you?" she collapsed in a pool of disheartened tears.

"Oh chill out, Serena." Soothed Lita, "I'll make some more for lunch tomorrow, okay." This comment was met by large, watery eyes.

"You promise?" She asked. Lita nodded with a smile.

"Anyways, that's the cat over there." Lita pointed towards darien, who was still behind the tree where they were sitting. Serena's eyes bulged.

"YOU!? I save you from certain death and you repay me by first scratching me, and now eating all my shrimp!" Serena's eyes narrowed with suspicion as she hid behind Amy, "be careful, that thing must be related to Luna. No doubt about it." The blonde glared through her slitted, wary eyes at the offending animal. Which looked oddly smug for a cat. Her two friends just laughed.

"I take it you two have met?" joked Lita. Darien saw his chance, and nodded his head to the question. Nobody noticed.

"Yeah, I saved him from some tormentors this morning. He must have followed me here." She replied. This time, Darien meowed for attention first and when they were looking, shook his head. The girls laughed at how cute he looked, but then went back to talking.

"Maybe we should call the animal control department." Amy wondered out loud.

"Nah, He looks pretty healthy, he's probably got an owner somewhere." Lita said. "Probably just went out for a stroll and now can't get back in to eat."

Amy nodded, "You're probably right."

The school bell rung, signaling the end of lunch period. The girls packed up and left, bidding the nice kitty goodbye as they walked away.

Darien sat alone under the tree at a loss for what to do. It was going to take much longer than he thought to get himself out of this predicament. Darien's suddenly heavy eyes closed themselves as he lied down in the grass, somehow the food in his stomach and the sunlight filtering through the trees just made it so hard to feel alert. Curling into a ball, he fell into a deep cat nap which would last until nightfall.

What finally awoke him were the loud clap of lighting nearby and the downpour of rain onto his fur. Surprised and disoriented, he stood and ran for cover under the school walkway awning. It was late in the evening, dark, cold and stormy. His fur hung heavy and wet around him, clinging uncomfortably to his skin. It was a feeling he could only describe as "yucky." And because of it, he felt an odd urge to lick himself all over his own body. It was a thought that made him extremely uncomfortable. Lightning flashed again with a loud crack the shocked him so much he streaked out into the downpour before he realized what he was doing.

His senses were going wild. He could smell the rain, hear the thunder louder in his large ears than he had ever heard before, and taste the storm in his mouth. It would have been a fascinating onslaught of sensations had his primal urges not been screaming at him to run for his life even though he had nowhere to run. His apartment, Amy's apartment, The Arcade and Rei's temple were all places he could not get to or stay at. He knew of no one else who would take in and shelter a poor, lost cat. No one, of course, except Serena.

The storm had made him care very little about how much she annoyed him. He would do whatever he could to get inside somewhere and out of the rain. Before he knew it, he had run the distance from Juuban Middle School to the front door of Serena's house and started scratching at the door.

"Let me in! Let me in! Serena you've got to be home! Let me in!" he mewed frantically.

Within five minutes the door cracked open and an older woman stared down at the miserable soaking being shivering on her doorstep.

"Oh my." Gasped Mrs. Tsukino.

"What is it mom?" asked Serena as she walked up behind her mom. Her eyes quickly fell on Darien, and widened in surprise. "You really ARE following me, aren't you!?" she said in surprise. Mrs. Tsukino looked at her daughter curiously. "I saved him this morning and he's been following me ever since." She explained. Her mother nodded.

"Well in any case. We can't have him clawing at the door all night. Bring him in until you figure out what to do with him."

Serena nodded. "Yes mom." She answered. Mrs. Tsukino walked back to the kitchen and Serena turned to the front porch. "Wait right there." She said as she closed the door. Darien could only stare at the door and quickly shiver his feet, trying in vain to dry his uncomfortably damp limbs. Just when it felt like Serena would never return, the door opened and warm yellow light flooded back into his eyes. When his irises adjusted, he saw a fluffy green towel coming down to scoop him up. Telling his senses not to panic, he let her pick him up and carry him into the house and up the stairs, all the while gently rubbing the towel into his fur, slowly and methodically drying him off.

Relieved he had a place to stay, and someone to look after him, Darien couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of the warm fuzzy cloth kneading into him and taking away the yucky, damp feeling and he sighed as he felt his concerns slowly seep away from him along with it.

Before he knew it, he had fallen peacefully asleep in the arms of another person the first time.

Tomorrow he would try again to solve his problems. Even if the only one he could work with was the odango atama, Serena Tsukino.


End file.
